LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, Maine – They said it was a bit like building a ship on the side of the mountain.
“It was a true labor of love,” said U.S. Dept. of the Interior Sec. Deb Haaland on Saturday morning about the creation of Tekαkαpimək, Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument visitor’s center, called a contact station. “It’s clear that every piece of this new building has been carefully crafted and thoughtfully selected.”
About 150 people on Saturday gathered for Tekαkαpimək’s unveiling and to hear the stories of the land and the Wabanaki people.
The visitor’s center lies at the southeastern corner of Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument’s 87,563 acres within the homeland of the Penobscot Nation.
Leading up to the center are walking trails through the woods with stone pathways. Inside, Wabanaki artisans created handcrafted floor tiles, wall carvings and woven ceilings. There are interpretative stations and educational videos. The entire space is open and features views of Mt. Katahdin.
“This is the result of a deliberative and collaborative effort of the tribal nations to fully honor the traditions, languages, images, kinship and ancestral representations of these lands’ original stewards,” Haaland said.
In 2016 President Barack Obama designated Katahdin Woods and Waters a national monument, made up of 13 parcels donated by Elliotsville Plantation Inc. and Roxanne Quimby, founder of Burt’s Bees.
Since then, the Elliotsville Foundation, the National Park Service, and representatives of the independent Native Nations that constitute the Wabanaki Confederacy — Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, Mi’kmaq Nation, Passamaquoddy Tribe at Motahkomikuk and Sipayik, and Penobscot Nation — worked to build the visitor’s center, said Brian Hinrichs, executive director of Friends of Katahdin Woods & Waters.
On Saturday, Quimby and her son Lucas St. Clair, who led the effort, were present for the ceremony.
St. Clair shared a story about the family and the land where the visitor center now sits.
About this same time of year in 2011, Hurricane Irene blew through this part of Maine where the Quimby and St. Clair families were staying, he said.
After six inches of rain fell overnight, St. Clair went with a forester to check out the damage to the roads. He said he was still living in Washington State at the time but considering working on creating the park. The two men stopped at Ten Mile Hill, just a mile from Lookout Mountain where the visitor’s center now sits. The views were spectacular, he said.
“That moment seared into my brain and for the last 13 years, I have dedicated most of my time to working on this project,” St. Clair said.
Tekαkαpimək translates from the Penobscot language to “as far as one can see” and is pronounced de gah-gah bee mook.
The $31 million center was funded privately through a capital campaign by Friends of Katahdin Woods & Waters. It will be donated to the American people and operated by the National Park Service once the last few pieces of construction are finalized, according to Hinrichs.
